A Loss and a Return
by Construct Master
Summary: Aaron is resting by the beach, with his Luxray running free in the forest and his Meloetta humming by his side. Watching the fishing boats, everything is peaceful and content. But something starts stirring in the water, something that will destroy what Aaron holds dear... This is a Oneshot, one written way too late at night. Just in - New Years' Eve bonus story!
1. A Loss and a Return

**Well, this wasn't planned. About to go to bed, check my email, and someone is already following my Pokemon Story. And what does my brain decide? "You should write that oneshot you have floating around in your head." And I did.**

**(Note: This is the revised version. Because it was written so late, there were mistakes, which I have fixed)**

** One thing, I would recommend watching the anime to get an idea of how Meloetta sounds. **** It might help. ****And in my stories, Meloettas DO have genders. I'm not calling this legendary an 'it'. Read and Review!**

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><p>Down in the southwest of the Sinnoh Region is a small town named Sandgem Town. Sitting in a forest, it's a pleasant little place. Take a stroll south for a little while and you'll reach the southern coast. Here, the forest extends almost to the waterline, with a thin beach of little more than 10 feet as a barrier between wood and water.<p>

It was at this place, right at the tree line, where Aaron had come every other day for the past year since he settled down in Sandgem Town. He came to relax, play, and give his Pokemon some free time. But at the moment, Aaron's companions had stayed home, and save for two Aaron was alone.

He sat with his back to an old oak, one hand behind his head, looking out to sea. The trainer was idly studying the fishing boats, pondering their movements.

One of the Pokemon who came with him, his loyal wingman and friend, Luxray, was released into the woods to do whatever he pleased. It was likely he was now running. Running down the shoreline, running among the trees, running through streams. The lion enjoyed slow walks, but even more he enjoyed speed. Few Pokemon could escape his electric charges.

The second friend was currently sitting with Aaron. Leaning against his side, this one was much smaller, but to Pokemon collectors worth a hundred Charizards: a Meloetta. She was another of Aaron's favorites. The legendary surpassed the relationship of a simple Pokemon and became a true friend, a best friend even. And like a friend, she was always there to provide support. And I do mean always; if Aaron was depressed and Meloetta was happy, he could look at her cheerfulness and feel just a bit better. If Meloetta was the sad one and Aaron the pleasant, Aaron almost automatically felt obligated to cheer her up. But there was little favoritism, Meloetta fought just like the rest of Aaron's team, though whenever she or Luxray fainted Aaron felt just a bit more of a pang in his heart.

Right now though, there were no battles. Aaron continued to almost subconsciously study the fishing boats, Meloetta resting her head against his side, eyes closed. Anyone not close would guess she was asleep, but right around her one could hear a soft hum resonating from the Pokemon. Everyone had heard of Meloettas as the Pokemon that sang, but with Aaron this one preferred simple humming. To her, it made it a little more private, a little more just for those she let near.

This was why Aaron came here. He knew his Pokemon were happy, and he himself felt content with the small head of Meloetta leaning against him and her quiet, sleepy humming contrasting against the ocean waves. Right now he felt like nothing could go wrong.

**(It's 1:00 AM as I'm writing this; I'm almost putting myself to sleep -_-)**

As he half-watched watched the fishing boats, his brain came back into play. Something didn't feel right. Meloetta's song and the water weren't the only sounds in the air now. It sounded like faint yelling was coming out from the ocean. Meloetta noticed too, her eyes blinked open.

"Eh-ta?" She said, waking up. "Melo, Meloetta?"

Aaron didn't move. "I don't know, Meloetta…Looks like those fishermen found something."

As the two continued to watch, the boats started moving away from each other. Suddenly, one of them was nearly capsized by a massive surge of water appearing beside it. As the spray fell back to the ocean, Aaron could make out a blue, snakelike body.

Aaron bolted up. "Oh gosh…That looks like a Gyarados!"

"Eh-ta!?"

The Gyarados charged one of the other boats, and his roar carried over to the beach as it succeeded in capsizing this one.

"Meloetta, can you send Luxray a psychic message?" The melody Pokemon shook her head. Aaron groaned. "Let me guess, too far away?"

Meloetta nodded, frowning. "Melo."

Aaron turned to his backpack. He had left it sitting near the tree. As he rummaged around in it, he found what he was looking for, his cell phone. Quickly dialing the emergency number, he started talking into the phone as soon as it picked up.

"Hey, this is Aaron Truman of Sandgem Town. I'm at the beach just south of the place, and I'm seeing what looks like a very hostile Gyarados attacking some fishing boats!"

Aaron could hear the operator on the other end yelling to someone: "We've got a Gyarados attack on the south beach! Get those Eelektross out there now!" The operator spoke into the phone. "Thank you sir, we have some guys on it now. I would suggest moving away from the area quickly."

"Meloetta…."

Aaron hung up the phone and turned to see what Meloetta wanted. He followed her stare and froze. The massive water-type had finished with the fishing boats and was looking for something -or someone- else to blast. Turns out that something would be those creatures he spotted on the shoreline. In other words, Aaron and Meloetta.

So now there was a rather ticked Gyarados hurtling through the water at Lord-knows-what speed towards them. Aaron turned to Meloetta. "There's no time to run now. Neither of you have type advantages over the other. Do you think you can fight him?"

Meloetta looked at Aaron, then at the streak of blue now only seconds away from them, then back to Aaron. She nodded, a look of determination now occupying her face. "Eh-_ta!" _

Aaron smiled, but that smile was immediately broken by a wave of water hitting him. The two turned to see a Gyarados about to slam into them. But before the impact could register, a burst of psychic energy from Meloetta pushed him to the side, derailing his attack and causing his girth to instead hit a tree. Aaron could hear the wood cracking as the impact sunk in.

The Gyarados reared back. Now that it had encountered resistance, calming down was not an option. It wanted a fight, and it looked like something was going to give him one.

But it wouldn't be easy. There may have been no type advantages, but Meloetta was a small Pokemon – and a hard target for something of Gyarados' size. Adding to the water Pokemon's frustrations was its constant disorientation and redirection, compliments of Meloetta's confusion and psychic moves.

Problem was, while these tactics kept Aaron and Meloetta safe, they weren't doing a whole lot of actual damage to the attacker, and Meloetta's energy would run out a lot sooner than Gyarados' health. Simply having to heft the Pokemon to the side was draining to the green-haired girl.

By now, Aaron had moved away a few yards to keep safe, but he couldn't leave Meloetta. There was no retreat – If Meloetta ran or was returned, it would give Gyarados enough of an opportunity to take the two out before they could escape.

As another of Gyarados' lunges was deflected, it realized it was getting nowhere. Changing tactics, the water type moved back a few yards and open its gaping jaws. A white light began to grow inside, sending bolts of energy around the Pokemon.

Meloetta watched carefully, trying to determine what it was doing. But Aaron realized what it was in seconds.

"HYPER BEAM! RUN, MELOETTA!"

Meloetta stared for a second more before turning and running as fast as she could towards Aaron. Aaron himself was dashing away. As the Gyarados unleashed its beam, it let out a massive, terrifying roar. Aaron looked back over his shoulder, and froze in terror.

The devastating attack was aimed not at him, but the little Pokemon who had been defying the raging Gyarados. Meloetta was only two yards away when the beam contacted with the forest. It positively vaporized the foliage in its path – and engulfed Meloetta.

As Aaron watched with horror riddling his face, Meloetta dematerialized before his eyes. Meloetta was still looking at Aaron with fear in her eyes as she let out a scream. And then she was gone, her face dissolved into dust.

The beam subsided, but Gyarados was still not satisfied. He started to charge another attack before something whipped past Aaron. A second later the Gyarados cried out in pain.

Aaron forced himself to move, and ran back to the source of the roars to find his Luxray hanging from the Gyarados' neck! Repetitively hitting him with thunder fang and crunch, he was biting into the snakelike beast with no mercy.

The Gyarados finally shook Luxray off. But the lion was immediately replaced by more electric attacks, this time sparking from the water. Aaron looked down to see multiple Eelektross attacking the Pokemon. Realizing it had finally been defeated, the Gyarados dived into the water with one last bloodcurdling bellow, before disappearing for good.

...

Aaron stared at the water for a minute, shocked at what had transpired in a matter of 10 minutes. He walked back, almost in a trance, to where the hyper beam had hit. A slightly steaming trench was dug in the dirt. Half-vaporized bushes and trees lay along its path. Where Meloetta had been, there was a black object laying alone. Aaron picked it up. It was the small headset-like hairpiece Meloetta wore.

Luxray pawed over to him, seemingly unhurt like falling from the neck of a Gyarados was nothing. Aaron's friend stopped when it saw what Aaron was holding, before whimpering a little.

Aaron sat down where he was, one hand absently resting on Luxray's head. The other held that same hairpiece. Though he was shivering from his wet clothes, to Aaron everything was numb.

Only 10 minutes ago, the friend who wore this object night and day was sitting next to him, quietly and contentedly humming a peaceful tune. Now, she was gone, simply gone. No body, no remains, nothing but this black, cold and hard hairpiece.

Aaron sat there, staring at that one piece of Meloetta and stroking Luxray's head. Just sat.

A tear fell to the ground.

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><p>Some Months Later…<p>

The house was quiet. In the living room, the fireplace sat dormant, the couches empty, the tables clear. The door opened, and a teenager and a younger boy walked in, laughing. Following them was a Luxray with a Pikachu on its back. The two Pokemon seemed to be in equally good spirits.

The teenager spoke: "That's a great story! You really beat the Elite Four of Hoenn?

The boy smiled again and nodded. "Yep, me, Brock, and May. That was a heck of a time!" He turned to his Pikachu. The yellow mouse seemed to be having great fun running circles around Luxray, who watched lazily before occasionally snatching him by the tail. The Pikachu would squirm for a moment before he was let go.

Both kids laughed at the show; everyone knew who would win in a battle but no one really cared. The two Pokemon were content to playfully contest each other like equals.

The younger of the two boys said, "You know, Pikachu is a big deal to me. I got him only because the other starters were taken, but he's never left me since. He's always there to give me support. When I'm unhappy, he cheers me up. When he's unhappy, I want to cheer him up!

The teenager started a little, a movement not unnoticed by the other. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just reminded me of a Pokemon I used to have."

The boy smiled again. "Must have been a special one, to get that kind of connection."

"Oh yeah, she was special all right…." The Teenager's voice trailed off.

The boy got up and grabbed his bag. "Well, I better go. Dawn will kill me if I don't get back on time." The Pikachu wriggled free of the Luxray to climb on his trainer's shoulder.

The teenager stood too, shaking the his guest's hand. "It was great meeting you, Ash. Hope to see you soon!"

Ash grinned and returned the handshake. "You too, bye!"

"Pika Pika!" was the final thing heard as the door closed.

Aaron smiled at the door for a second before the grin fell away with a sigh. He walked over to the fireplace and lit the logs inside before picking up a display case on the mantle.

As he sat down on the couch, Luxray walked over to him and lay out at his feet, resting in the warmth of the fire. Aaron opened the clear container, one his visitor had failed to notice.

Inside was a picture frame, holding a picture of Meloetta. He pulled it out and stared at it for a minute. It had been taken at Mt. Coronet, when Aaron had hiked up to spear pillar. The picture showed Meloetta sitting on the edge of the pillar's plaza, looking out over the Sinnoh region. Aaron could still remember how beautiful it had sounded to hear Meloetta sing that day, alone on the peak.

Also inside the container was a disk and a black Pokeball with gold stripes. Aaron picked up and set aside the Pokeball, knowing it was empty. He then got up for a moment, arousing Luxray's attention as the Pokemon raised his head like an old dog. Aaron walked over to the CD player and inserted the disk, then hit a couple buttons on the device. He came back to the couch and took out the last item in the box.

A sweet sound began to fill the room. It was singing, though not quite human. Instead, this sounded melodious, like instruments put into a voice. Meloetta's song.

Aaron looked at the item he had just pulled out. It was all he really had left of Meloetta; that same hairpiece he had picked up from the smoldering remains of a hyper beam. Luxray got up and walked to Aaron, and nuzzled his head in his friend's lap.

Aaron continued to look at the device. Just as he had in that trench while the song continued to play. Just sat.

Once again, a tear fell to the floor.

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><p>The Next Morning….<p>

Aaron got out of bed, ready for another day in his life. He got dressed, ate breakfast, and went to attend to his duties as the electric and ice type Gym Leader of Sangdem City. He had 7 challengers that day, 4 of which managed to beat him. He didn't mind losing today, they were clearly good trainers.

As he was rewarding his last challenger with his hexagonal gym badge, he saw a Gardevoir standing by his side. This Gardevoir fought well, and had ultimately been what finished Luxray using psychic. As the badge fell into the trainers hand, the Embrace Pokemon hugged the trainer, smiling joyously. The two left happy, not like lovers, but as friends who had worked together. The sight gave Aaron a bittersweet feeling. It was a sight that warmed his heart - and at the same time snapped it in two.

Aaron ran home, leaving his Pokemon in the healing machine kept at the Gym. He'd get them later. He burst into the house, paced over to the case on the mantle and took out the Pokeball inside. It was an Ultra ball, one he had kept reserved for a special Pokemon. That Pokemon was Meloetta. He looked at the Pokeball, before angrily throwing it to the ground with all the strength he had. The ball simply rolled away on impact, unharmed but for a scratch.

Aaron repeated the process with rage, the Ball mocking him with its resistance. He was angry, though not at any one thing. He was just like the Gyarados, having anger and needing something to direct it at. Finally, Aaron threw down Meloetta's ball again, but this time it landed face-down on the single button. The ball opened automatically. The black hairpiece, that little piece of Meloetta left dematerialized into red vapor before rushing into the ball. The Ultra ball snapped shut. On the button, three letters appeared.

FNT.

Aaron slowly reached down to pick up the ball, and studied it. The three letters worked their way into his head, before they finally registered.

FNT.

Faint.

"No…."

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><p>You thought Luxray moved fast? You should have seen Aaron as he made a mad dash to the Pokecenter. He burst through the door and ran to the desk. Nurse Joy stood in surprise; it wasn't often the Gym Leader would come to the Pokecenter; let alone at this speed.<p>

She asked nervously, "Hi! May I help you?"

"Can you heal this Pokemon?"

Nurse Joy took the gold-striped Ball from Aaron's hand. Why where there scratches and dents all over it? "Sure! Just wait a second.."

The 30 seconds it took Nurse Joy to use the machine that healed Pokemon felt like 30 hours to Aaron. He took the ball from Nurse Joy's offering hand, and rushed out to the Gym.

Entering inside, where no one else would be for the day, Aaron looked at the ball in his hand the three letters had disappeared. Then, he pressed the button.

The ball opened. A red mist flew out, then settled and took form as a small, humanoid, green-haired Pokemon.

"Melo..Mel Eh-ta? Meloetta?"

Aaron just stared for a moment before grabbing her and pulling her into the tightest and warmest hug he'd ever given.

A tear fell to the floor, but a tear of joy.

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><p>…<strong>Wow. I think missing a few hours of sleep was worth writing that. I have no idea what to think at the moment, like when you see a movie with an awesome ending. And I wrote it. I'm bragging too much.<strong>

**I think that went really well. Just so you know, Ryan's Journey may be taken down. I realized I have some great oneshots in mind but nothing to connect them, like this. I still think I'll continue to write Pokemon, and I won't give up on the story when it's only a day old.**

**Also, If you didn't notice I really like the Shinx line. I'm playing through my first actual game, and one of my best Pokemon at the moment is a Luxio. I love him. (Note: Now he's a Luxray. Still one of my best!)**

**I'm going to get some sleep. Please Review!**


	2. New Year Special

**Sitting downstairs, the TV shows me as the ball drops. Welcome to 2015. What should be the first thing for me to do? Write a story of course!**__**I decided to do an add-on to a preexisting tale I liked. I don't know of any specific year dates in Pokemon, so I'm just going with the current years.**

Sitting in the middle Sangdem City, once a town meaning little on the map, Aaron takes a moment to realize just how much the place has developed. Heck, it was only a few months ago there was no gym here. Now, the town had grown large enough to constitute one, and who should the League pick to be the Leader but Aaron Truman, user of Electric and Ice-Type Pokemon.

All around the square are ribbons and lights, bathing the town with enough light to make it seem like day. But all one has to do is look to the sky to see the blackness above, indicating night. Actually in the square are a few hundred people, all here to celebrate. In the middle of the crowd is a platform, and erected on the platform is a post a few feet in diameter and striped up and down with multicolored lights. Resting comfortably at the top is a giant Pokeball, Black with gold stripes on the top. An Ultra Ball, very nearly the best Pokeball around.

Sitting in a VIP Box is Aaron Truman, the Gym Leader of Sangdem. Also in the box are his Pokemon, the ones he calls his friends. Perched on the railing is Emolga, the little squirrel. Curled up in his lap is Glaceon, his back-up to deal with Ground types. Finally, sitting beside him is Luxray, his Electric Lion of a Pokemon. But there's one more occupying the comfortable observatory: Cynthia, Champion of the Sinnoh region. She chose this place to come for the celebration to honor its rapid development in the past year.

And what Celebration is this? New Year's Eve and Day, when the old year ends and the new begins. This time, it is 2014 drawing to a close, 2015 ready to start up. But it'll have to wait – 10 minutes to go.

The past few hours have been spent in Gameshows, food stands, and Pokemon battles and contests. Most everyone has enjoyed the festivities, and even those who have grudgingly ignored the celebration can't bring themselves to ignore these last final acts of the year.

Right now, the last Pokemon contest has just ended, and it's time for a pair of speeches: One from the Gym Leader, and one from the Champion.

Champion goes first. Cynthia smiles at Aaron, before stepping to the front and center of the box to address the crowd. Taking the microphone placed there before, she calls out.

"So – Who's enjoyed 2014?" She begins with. A roar from the multitudes is her answer. "Glad to hear it! I came tonight to see what all the fuss was about, and I wasn't disappointed. The development of this city is amazing. I remember coming here years ago to a place where it was quiet, where there wasn't anything exciting to worry about. Now Sangdem is a city, complete with Gym, and what a Gym it is. I look forward to seeing it grow even more – Happy new year everyone!"

The crowd cheers as she steps back gesturing at Aaron to the Microphone. Aaron gets up, just a little shakily, and walks up. The cheering gets louder as many in the crowd recognize their home's Gym Leader. Emolga decides it would be appropriate to sit on his shoulder for the address. Aaron doesn't even notice.

"Hi everyone. I'm Aaron Truman, the Gym Leader of Sangdem. Though for most of you, I don't have to introduce myself. I'm glad to have the privilege of knowing you personally, and for helping you with the development of this city. I still remember the shock when I picked up the phone call from the Pokemon League. Thanks to everyone for the support you've given me. I hope to see you soon – on the street or in battle as we enter the New Year."

As Aaron steps back, the lights around the Arena dim. There's one last performance before the Pokeball drops. Realizing the desired mood change, part of the crowd quiets down. Those who remained loud silence themselves as a sweet sound reaches their ears.

A song resonates throughout the square, but there is no electronics or recordings at work here. The beautiful melody is coming from a small Pokemon sitting on top of the Ball in the middle. Not all can see it, but those that can see a Meloetta. Aaron's Meloetta, to be exact. As her song echoes through the square, Aaron closes his eyes and smiles, one hand absently stroking Luxray's head as it often does. Nothing can interrupt, for fear of destroying the peacefulness of the song.

As the last notes die away, Meloetta simply disappears from the top of the Pokeball. At the same moment, every television and commercial screen in the square blinks to life with the same readout: 00:00:60. 00:00:59.

As soon as the countdown begins, the excitement – and volume of the crowd triples. Aaron stands up and walks to the edge of the VIP Box, looking out over the crowd. Picking out individual faces, He can't locate one frown among the multitude. As the timer hits 00:00:10, the mood rises to a fevered pitch. Virtually everyone shouts out the last numbers as the Ball in the middle of town begins to fall.

5..

4..

3..

2..

1..

The ball touches down. Fireworks launch. Everyone yells even louder than before. 2014 is over, 2015 has begun. All the televisions retain the countdown, but joining it on the screens are the words "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

As Aaron watches with a grin on his face, many of the couples in the crowd kiss, like a rededication for the year of their love. Suddenly, he feels a quick kiss on his cheek. Whirling around shocked expecting to see the Champion Cynthia, he instead sees a pair of blue eyes looking at him, set in a white face with green hair and a smile capable of warming anyone's heart.

"Melo!" The face states, still beaming.

Aaron just looks for a moment before returning the grin and hugging the Pokemon.

(15 minutes later)

"GaspWait! What's the Gasp rush for?"

As soon as Aaron had left the VIP box, Luxray, Emolga, Glaceon, and Meloetta had basically started pulling him towards the south end of town. Aaron had tried to run at their pace, but he just couldn't keep up. His Pokemon wouldn't give up though, Glaceon, Meloetta and Emolga urging him on. All it took was a look from Luxray to give Aaron a reason to hurry.

A little while later, they were out of the city and approaching the shoreline. Aaron recognized this area, it's where he came to rest. Even becoming Gym Leader hadn't convinced him to break his Regime, in fact he enjoyed coming here even more now to rest from the challenges he faced. The beach a little farther down had been developed a bit, with some cabins and more people coming more often. But the area where the woods almost met the sea was untouched, just like Aaron liked it. And apparently it was this area that Aaron's team wanted him now.

Trudging through the dark forest, Luxray was able to charge his fur coat with electricity to light the way. Aaron made a mental not NOT to pat him on the head when he did this. As they neared the coastline, Aaron noticed an unwelcome sight.

A trench dug in the ground, like the depression left by a circular pipe. Along the trench were a few bushes, oddly lopsided on the side facing the depression, like half of it had been cut off. Aaron frowned; this trench was caused by something that left him with months of sorrow. But what was that in the middle? Some kind of sphere…

This sphere appeared to be where the team wanted Aaron, so he walked over. Picking up the object, he instantly identified it – a Pokeball.

Looking to Meloetta for some kind of explanation, Meloetta just giggled. Glaceon and Emolga had similar reactions. Luxray himself smiled at Aaron, not making a sound.

"Okay, if you're not going to tell me, I guess I'll see what's inside myself," Aaron said. He pressed the button on the ball, and the red mist of a Pokemon flew out. As the mist solidified, what was left was a little orange mouse with red cheeks and diamond-shaped ears. The little Pokemon looked at Aaron with a smile.

"Pi? Pichu!"

Aaron looked at the Pokemon for a second, then at his team. "You got me a shiny Pichu?"

Meloetta nodded, barely containing her happiness.

Aaron was about to ask how they got it, in a Pokeball no less, but stopped himself. Instead, he just picked up the newest member of his team and laughed.

**Happy New Year!**

** -Construct Master**


End file.
